Stories from our guests: Kathy

“Do you know how hard it is to try to hold your stuff until you can find some place to do it? If by chance you can find a bathroom that’s open outside, you’re lucky. Especially if you’re not downtown. I was in the Bayview. There was absolutely no restrooms, unless you bought something. I tried to camp by McDonald’s so I could go and use their restroom. The security guard was cool with me. When they got fed up with it, I went to the Jack in the Box across the street. It was a matter of making every fast food joint mad at me. But when they were closed, it was find a car and squat.”

12:00 pm

“I found out why people act so weird when they become homeless. When you treat people like animals, they start to act like animals. Seriously. I have a Master’s degree, I’m an educated woman – when I became homeless, I became an animal. It was because of the way people treated me.”

5:00 pm

“When you treat people like they’re homeless but not hopeless, they’re still people, it’s a whole different feeling for the recipient. That’s why I always come to St. Anthony’s. During that time St. Anthony’s was my home. They made me remember that I was a person. They treated me with dignity no matter how I looked, no matter how dirty I was, how I smelled, whatever.”